Tag Archives: AACD Accredited Dentist

Cosmetic Dentist

Can a Cosmetic Dentist Fix Spaces Between My Teeth?

I have some spaces between my teeth that I want fixed, but I don’t want metal braces. Are there cosmetic options?

Fiona L.

Dear Fiona,

A woman with a gorgeous smile created by cosmetic dentist Dr. Mike Malone
A gorgeous smile created by cosmetic dentist Dr. Mike Malone

You have quite a few options to fix the spaces between your teeth. If you want to close the spaces, you have options other than traditional metal braces. Invisalign is a brand of orthodontics which uses invisible aligners to straighten your teeth. They’re very effective, working in less time than traditional braces.

The aligners have the benefit of being able to double as teeth whitening aligners. That way you can whiten your teeth and straighten them at the same time.

Cosmetic Dentistry Options for Closing Teeth

  • Tooth bonding: Depending on the size of the gaps between your teeth, dental bonding is a fantastic, fairly inexpensive option for you.
  • Porcelain veneers: If there are other things you want to change about your teeth, then veneers are your best option. They can change anything—the shape, size, color, and character.

Choosing your Cosmetic Dentist

If you choose the cosmetic option over the orthodontic option, it’s important you choose your cosmetic dentist carefully. You want to make sure the smile you get will be a beautiful one. Not every dentist can pull that off. It takes both technical knowledge as well as an artistic eye. It’s very challenging for patients to know who is capable of that type of advanced cosmetic work.

Because of that, the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry (AACD) started an accreditation program. It’s designed to test dentists on their technical skill and their artistic ability. There are stringent oral and written exams and they have to show a series of cases they’ve done of specific procedures to make sure they create not just technically proficient but gorgeous as well.

If you want a beautiful smile, go to an AACD accredited dentist.

This blog is brought to you by Dr. Mike Malone.

Invisalign

Can Invisalign Give Me a Quick Fix?

I’ve had braces in the past when I was younger. Over the years, some mild spaces have developed. As an adult, I do not want to go through braces again. However, I do want to close these spaces. Is there a possibility Invisalign can give me a quick fix on these spaces? There’s a lot to fix on my teeth, but I feel like closing these will give me a good start.

Abby S.

Dear Abby,

Lafayette Invisalign

If you’ve only got some mild spacing issues, then you may be a good candidate for Invisalign Express. That can tighten up your bite in just s few months. However, you mentioned there are other issues about your teeth you’d like to fix. You didn’t mention what they were. If you want to fix everything at once, instead of in little installments, I’d like to suggest porcelain veneers.

Lafayette Porcelain VeneersPorcelain veneers are tiny wafers which can completely remake your smile, changing everything about it. They can simultaneously change the shape, size, and color of your teeth, giving you a stunning smile.

Can Any Dentist Do Invisalign or Porcelain Veneers?

Cosmetic dentistry isn’t a recognized specialty. While any dentist is technically allowed to do either procedure, the results you get vary widely from dentist to dentist. With Invisalign, you’ll be safe with pretty much any dentist. The treatment plan is designed by computer. The dentist is there mostly to make certain your teeth and gums stay healthy throughout the treatment.

Porcelain Veneers are completely different. It requires not just advanced skills, but an artistic eye. They’re designing your smile. You want a dentist who’s gone through extensive post-graduate training. I can’t tell you the number of people who’ve ended up coming to Dr. Malone’s office begging him to fix the disastrous smile “makeover” another dentist created. You want to go to a dentist who’ll get it right the first time.

Look for a dentist in your area who is accredited with the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry (AACD). Accredited dentists have passed extensive testing in their cosmetic skills as well as demonstrated artistry on cases they’ve personally designed.

This blog is brought to you by Dr. Mike Malone.

Porcelain Veneers

Why Does an Overbite Prevent Me From Getting Porcelain Veneers?

Can you help me understand something? I really wanted to have porcelain veneers placed, but my dentist said because I have an overbite, I’d have to get crowns. He wants to place six porcelain crowns on my front teeth. Is there another option? Also, if I go with the crowns, do I whiten my bottom teeth? Both arches have tetracycline stains.

Amanda L.

Dear Amanda,

Lafayette Porcelain Veneers

I’m very glad you wrote before moving forward with this procedure. It sounds like you went to your family dentist instead of someone with expertise in cosmetic work, and he’s not as comfortable with doing advanced cosmetic procedures. Rather than admit that, he came up with a rather creative (though completely untrue) excuse for why you can’t have it. Then recommended porcelain crowns because he is comfortable doing that.

Porcelain veneers are actually a better solution for an overbite. Crowns have to grind down your teeth. Porcelain veneers do not. Why would you want to grind down healthy tooth structure?

In fact, the two pictures below will demonstrate the difference in preparing for the two procedures.

Lafayette Porcelain Veneers
Tooth Preparation for Porcelain Veneers
porcelain crown prep
Preparation for a Porcelain Crown

As you can see, you save much more tooth structure with porcelain veneers.

Another thing to consider is the number of crowns he said to get because it’s equally applicable to porcelain veneers. Six is not enough. Most smiles show between eight and ten teeth. Some wider smile show even more. Take a close look at your teeth when you’re smiling broadly. How many are visible? You want each visible tooth covered.

So, who should you have do this smile makeover? Your particular case is especially advanced. Tetracycline stains are among the most difficult to deal with. You need an expert cosmetic dentist. In your position, I’d look for a dentist who’s accredited with the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry (aacd.org). Bear in mind accreditation is very different from membership. Any dentist can be a member. Accreditation requires a great deal of knowledge, skill, and artistry.

Your bottom arch can be whitened. Traditionally, teeth whitening isn’t the ideal for tetracycline stains, but if your dentist uses KöR Whitening, you should get decent results.

This blog is brought to you by Dr. Mike Malone.

Porcelain Veneers

My Porcelain Veneers Keep Staining – Dentist is Blaming Me

I don’t know what’s going on. I got porcelain veneers a year and a half ago. They looked beautiful when they were first placed. But, a few weeks after my six-month check up they started picking up stains. They come off whenever the hygienist cleans them at my next appointment, but it doesn’t take long for them to start picking up stains again. The dentist said it’s something I’m doing, but my natural teeth never stained this badly. Do you have any idea what can be causing this?

Stephanie H.

Dear Stephanie,

Porcelain veneers are actually more stain resistant than your natural teeth. So, if the smile you had before wasn’t being stained by your habits, you don’t seem to be the problem. The timing of when your porcelain veneers first starting picking up stains is the biggest clue. You mentioned it happened very shortly after your check-up. My suspicion is the hygienist used something during her cleaning which led to the glaze being removed from your porcelain veneers.

Once that happens, it will continue to pick up stains rapidly. Yes, the cleanings you get at check-ups will remove them, but they’ll come right back. Unfortunately, this can’t be fixed. While there is a diamond polishing technique that could help, it’s an extremely advanced procedure and very few cosmetic dentists know it. The only thing to do at this point is have them replaced. Because this was likely the fault of your dentist’s staff, they should be willing to front most of the cost of replacement.

If they give you trouble, you could have an expert cosmetic dentist in your area look at the veneers to give a second opinion as to what happened. If it turns out the glaze was removed, that could put pressure on your dentist to make things right. Most dentists care about their reputation among their peers.

In order to find an expert cosmetic dentist, you can check with mynewsmile.com. They list artistic cosmetic dentists by area. Also, you can check aacd.com to see if there are any accredited dentists in your area. You’ll be in good hands with either of those.

Hopefully, this situation will educate your dentist on how to properly care for porcelain veneers in the future. As an aside, make sure you’re not using any whitening toothpastes. These are abrasive and can place minuscule scratches on your veneers. Instead, use a cosmetic toothpaste, such as Supersmile.

This blog is brought to you by Dr. Mike Malone.